Correction: Grasgruber et al. Mapping the Mountains of Giants: Anthropometric Data from the Western Balkans Reveal a Nucleus of Extraordinary Physical Stature in Europe. Biology 2022, 11, 786

Note: The authors apologize for the rather extensive text corrections [...].


Figure/Table Legend
(1) In the original publication, there was a mistake in the legend for (2) In the original publication, there was a mistake in the legend for Figure 3: Economic development in the Western Balkans (gross domestic product per capita, by purchasing power parity), compared with the Netherlands and the USA. Source: [23].
The correct legend appears below: Economic development in the Western Balkans (gross domestic product per capita, by purchasing power parity), compared with the Netherlands and the USA. Source: [24].
(3) In the original publication, there was a mistake in the legend for Figure 4: The quality of nutrition in the Western Balkans (expressed as the 'protein index'), compared with the Netherlands and the USA. Source: [24].
The correct legend appears below: The quality of nutrition in the Western Balkans (expressed as the 'protein index'), compared with the Netherlands and the USA. Source: [25].
(5) In the original publication, there was a mistake in the legend for Table 1: "D, standard deviation".
The correct legend appears below: "SD, standard deviation". Table   In the original publication, there was a mistake in Table 1. The labels in the table were incorrectly formatted (the names of regions were not aligned to the right). A standard error was added to the row "Montenegro-Central region".

Error in
The corrected Table 1 appears below.

Text Correction
(1) There was an error in the Abstract of the original publication.
This anthropological synthesis includes the measurements of 47,158 individuals (24,642 males and 22,516 females) from the period 2010-2018 and maps detail regional differences in male stature in the Western Balkans.
A correction has been made: This anthropological synthesis includes the measurements of 47,158 individuals (24,642 males and 22,516 females) from the period 2010-2018 and describes detailed regional differences in male stature in the Western Balkans.
(2) There was an error in the Abstract of the original publication.
... and 18-year-old boys from Dalmatia are even taller (183.7 cm).at a regional level. A correction has been made: ... and 18-year-old boys from Dalmatia are even taller (183.7 cm) at a regional level.
(3) The text has been modified in the sentence: This belt also includes two notable regional anomalies with mean heights above 185 cm-one is centered around Široki Brijeg in Western Herzegovina and Central Dalmatia ... A correction has been made: This belt also includes two notable regional anomalies with mean heights above 185 cm. One is centered around Široki Brijeg in Western Herzegovina and Central Dalmatia ...
(4) The text has been modified in the sentence: This increase in stature is driven by several key factors that are closely associated with the rising GDP (gross domestic product) per capita, better nutrition (mainly high-quality proteins from milk, pork, and eggs), ...

A correction has been made:
This increase in stature is driven by several key factors that are closely associated with the rising GDP (gross domestic product) per capita: better nutrition (mainly high-quality proteins from milk, pork, and eggs), ... ... and this is especially true for J-M304 (r = − 0.88, p = 0.008), which is also the strongest correlate of shortness in Europe and the Near East (r = −0.86, p < 0.001). In accordance with these findings, the inclusion of I-M170 and the Near Eastern Y haplogroups ... A correction has been made: This is especially true for J-M304 (r = −0.88, p = 0.008), which is also the strongest correlate of shortness in Europe and the Near East (r = −0.86, p < 0.001). In accordance with these findings, the inclusion of I-M170 and the three Near Eastern Y haplogroups ...
(9) There were errors in the references in the sentences: ... from adjusted R 2 = 0.426 to 0.721 [17]. Other European Y haplogroups have a more restricted geographical distribution but they also show geographical relationships with height (see Figure 5A,B and [19]).
A correction has been made: ... from adjusted R 2 = 0.426 to 0.721 [18]. Other European Y haplogroups have a more restricted geographical distribution but they also show geographical relationships with height (see Figure 5A,B and [20]). (11) There were errors in the references in the paragraph: Still, the history of I-M170 in the Dinaric Alps remains enigmatic and due to the lack of well-preserved skeletal material, it will be difficult to capture its evolution over time.  Comparisons of this sort are already available thanks to genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and have shown that height is highly polygenic-depending on the combination of a large number of genes, each of which explains only a very small part of the total variability [36,37].
A correction has been made: Comparisons of this sort are already available thanks to genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and have shown that height is highly polygenic-depending on the combination of a large number of genes, each of which explains only a very small part of the total variability [37,38].
(15) There were errors in the references in the sentences: However, the identification of such SNPs is difficult due to the confounding role of environment [38]. Although the accuracy of the polygenic height scores has been improving at the individual level [39], their success at the population level is still rather mixed because height-associated SNPs are population-specific and most GWAS have been performed on Europeans [40,41].
A correction has been made: However, the identification of such SNPs is difficult due to the confounding role of environment [39]. Although the accuracy of the polygenic height scores has been improving at the individual level [40], their success at the population level is still rather mixed because height-associated SNPs are population-specific and most GWAS have been performed on Europeans [41,42].
(16) There was an error in the reference in the sentence: As a result, the number of publicly available individual genomes from the Western Balkans is relatively small and considering that they are not sorted according to regions in the POPRES database [42], a direct testing of the genetic hypothesis was not possible.
A correction has been made: As a result, the number of publicly available individual genomes from the Western Balkans is relatively small and considering that they are not sorted according to regions in the POPRES database [43], a direct testing of the genetic hypothesis was not possible.
(17) There were errors in the references in the paragraph: Contemporary genetic studies aimed at the evolution of height in Europe (e.g., [38,40,43 (18) There was an error in the reference in the sentence: Sohail et al. [38] used presumably unconfounded SNPs based on British individuals from the UK Biobank, but these markers also produced only low-to-medium polygenic scores in a small POPRES sample from the former Yugoslavia (n = 44).
A correction has been made: Sohail et al.
[39] used presumably unconfounded SNPs based on British individuals from the UK Biobank, but these markers also produced only low-to-medium polygenic scores in a small POPRES sample from the former Yugoslavia (n = 44).
(19) There were errors in the paragraph: In fact, the projection of correlation lines between male height and the frequencies of I-M170 indicates that well-nourished males in Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia could potentially reach an astonishing average height of~190 cm [11,12]. This value, however seemingly improbable, is already not too far from the urban means that we documented in Makarska (187.6 cm), Imotski (186. Provided that all the lagging Albanian regions reach sufficiently high nutritional and socio-economic standards, we expect that the north-to-south gradient in height, which was once reported by Coon [4], will emerge again, and the height difference between Albania and Montenegro should also decrease.
A correction has been made: Provided that all the lagging Albanian regions reach sufficiently high nutritional and socio-economic standards, we expect that the north-to-south gradient in height, which was once reported by Coon [6], will emerge again, and the height difference between Albania and Montenegro should also decrease.
(21) There was an error in the reference in the sentence: Given that Albanians already consume the highest amount of dairy proteins in the world [24], the values of the 'protein index' in Albania are unlikely to rise much higher.